Actor Ashton Kutcher felt a responsibility to honour American innovator Steve Jobs' legacy when he signed on to portray him in a new movie.

The No Strings Attached star took on the role of the Apple co-founder in the upcoming biopic Jobs after missing out on an opportunity to meet him before his death.

He says, "I had an opportunity to meet him about six months before he passed away and I was working that day and couldn't go. In hindsight, I look back and I think, 'I had an opportunity to meet the Leonardo da Vinci of our time and I missed it'. That really affected my decision to take on the role."

The actor felt that Jobs' death was an iconic moment and it was important to praise his life.

He continues, "I hear people talk about they knew where they were the day Kennedy died (and) I'll never forget the moment I heard that he (Jobs) died. I was on the road, I got home, I sat down on my computer, started doing some work and I said, 'All the relationships I have in my life, are held together by glue that he laid down. All the work that I do, in whatever capacity that I do it, and the entertainment I consume...' Here I had my Apple computer, my iPhone, all these things and I realised that I had taken him for granted."

Kutcher also revealed that Jobs' death had a profound affect on him personally.

He explains, "I'd taken for granted the contribution that he actually gave to society and I actually had a real emotional moment that day. (I) actually reached out to a couple of my friends that work in the tech venture space, they had the same response and so when I got the script (for the film), I felt like I wanted to ensure that his legacy was told from someone that admired him."